Enrapture | The Angels Series Book 2 | Slow Updates

Chapter Eight

They landed hard in the center of one of her oldest temples. Today, it was no more than a tourist site. Located at the edge of a cliffside in the Acropolis of Athens, Greece, it was a site to behold. It still held pretty well, having been built around 420 B.C., but its walls were crumbling.

Nevertheless, she had placed powerful wards here centuries ago, and though Uriel had broken through them once before, she had reinforced them nearly a decade ago when a vision of this very day came to her. The day she would need to use its walls as sanctuary once more.

Athena and the others got on their feet and dusted themselves off. Gabriel explored first, observing the many carvings of herself that littered the walls and even surrounded the outside of the temple itself. He stepped outside and she could hear him walk around the building once before stepping back in. Amoura remained inside, seeming indifferent as to where they were. Michael had his eyes on her the entire time. She could feel his gaze boring into the side of her face, but couldn't bring herself to look at him.

Her stomach tightened as she felt his desire through her very own veins. It took a lot of self-control to tamp down her own need for him. She was beginning to slip the longer she spent time in his presence.

"We're in Athens," Gabriel stated, stepping through the doorway and landing his sapphire gaze on her. His eyes narrowed as he studied her closely, then flicked back and forth between one of the statues and herself. "In the temple of Athena."

She nodded, and the other two perked their heads, suddenly seeming interested in their location. Gabriel took another step toward her before continuing.

"I don't believe in coincidences, so just who exactly are you? Better yet, what are you?"

Athena sighed. It was finally time to come clean. She had known this was the place she would tell them who she was and how she came to be. Gathering her courage, she swallowed her nerves and turned to face the three pairs of eyes that were now intently watching her.

"I am Athena Nike, Goddess of Wisdom and Warfare," she winced as the words left her lips, realizing that it would be difficult to convince two former angels of Heaven and enforcers of Christianity that she was a goddess.

Gabriel gawked at her and Michael remained silent. His golden eyes burned a hole through her face and she wished he would show at least a hint of what he was thinking. When nobody spoke, she decided to continue in the hopes that explaining further would help them transition into the truth.

"There are many memories that were stolen from you," she began, flicking her honey gaze between Gabriel and Michael, "starting with the truth about the first people. Your God created the angels, and he created man. What you don't remember, is that he also created immortal beings with special gifts, meant to protect and guide mankind.

"My grandmother, Nanshe, was one of the first immortal people. She was among the first generation, created by your God. She held the gift of prophecy. She represented social justice and guided humanity. Her lover was an angel named Enki. He was an angel of wisdom and magic, though the mortals of that time had believed that he was her father. This, however, is false. Nanshe had no father. She was created by the Lord." She paused, checking to make sure that they were following her. They all sat in silence, giving nothing away with their impassive expressions.

"There were many other immortal beings, and each held a special gift. One of my grandmother's best friends was Baba, the goddess of healing. There was also Nintud, whom the mortals referred to as Mother Goddess. She had the gift of fertility and played a large role in the reproduction of mankind. You see, the immortal beings were meant to protect and guide the lesser humans. But some of them became greedy and forced the humans to worship them as though they were equal to God. The humans built them temples and brought them offerings and sacrifices. It changed something vital within them."